Tuesday, April 29, 2008

There's more outrageously cool (and practical) stuff from Xtracycle. Derek Pearson provides a sneak-peak at Bike? Rubbish! You knew this was coming, but somehow that doesn't diminish its wonderfulness:

Also, it appears that the Rubbish King and Queen are joining the Peapod team. Congratulations, and welcome.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Phoenix Bikes is a non-profit community bike shop in Arlington, Virginia that works with teens to recycle quality used bikes back into the community. This April marks Phoenix Bikes' first birthday, and we want to celebrate a year of outstanding service to the community by showcasing the creativity of area cyclists and raising awareness of our programs.

Please join us at our First Annual Bike Show and support Phoenix Bikes!

Departing from the City Bikes in Adams Morgan, the ride follows Beach Drive (which is closed to cars on the weekends) north to the Capital Crescent Trail, arriving at the City Bikes in Chevy Chase, whereupon your hard work is rewarded with Sol's delicious pastries. The official ride then returns to Adams Morgan, but you can wander in your own direction if you wish.

While most of the practical cyclists around the world are non-white people in Africa, China, India, et al., the visible bicycle-riding community in the US is pretty darn white. Here is a pretty funny commentary to this point:

Friday, April 4, 2008

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

This is only slightly off-topic, but it's great, so continue... Leah Buechley, who might best be described simply as an innovator, has made some Math Handbags, which are cool, but which also get at the important intersection of gender and education, and particularly science and math eductation. She wrote:

I made the first bags in the spring of 2004. In the summer of 2006, as part of a Science Discovery workshop that Nwanua Elumeze and I taught, a group of 11-14 year old students used my graphing program and the laser cutter to create their own math handbags, bookbags and caps.

I am interested in integrating "feminine" activities like sewing with computer science, mathematics and technology. I think that social issues more often than lack of talent discourage women from entering math, technology and science related fields, and I hope to help create environments where women's interests are explored and represented.

I am rapidly becoming obsessed with making LED lights. I have a couple of old bike lights that are very stylish, and would be fantastic once retrofitted with LED light sources, and potentially powered by dynamos. I should state here that I have yet to actually do anything related to this obsession, other than look for information on the interweb.

The best resource I found was this website, which has information, explanations, and diagrams of several basic, bike-specific, battery- and dynamo-powered designs. There are also lots of step-by-step instructions on various DIY websites. If you know a source for more information, let me know.

This site has instructions for the construction of a very look looking battery-powered headlight using three 3 watt Luxeon LEDs. It wins big points from me for the use of a binder clip as the central structural component. Also, the heat-sinks look very cool and space-age.